Robert Hunziker. Anissa Gray. Clive Thompson. on Life Elsewhere

Frequent contributor to Life Elsewhere, Robert Hunziker says global warming is a fact of life that haunts society with consequences that hit hard, exponentially, but where nobody lives. It is happening hyper fast, and it’s downright scary as major ecosystems of the planet turn upside down in nasty fashion. He goes on to say that none of the ecosystems has the punch of East Antartica adding, Its clout is humongous with a couple hundred feet of fresh water contained in ice. When it rumbles, scientists pay attention. America is fortunate to have a powerful fighting spirit in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). She has strong instincts about the dangers of global warming. She is beating the drums for a Green New Deal, which cannot come soon enough and, in fact, may not come soon enough to save most life on the planet. Meanwhile, Republicans belittle her as foolhardy, not in the spirit of America’s capitalistic enterprise. A socialist? We welcome Robert Hunziker back to the show to share his thoughts and answer questions.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls is the striking debut novel from Anissa Gray, a broadcast journalist at CNN Worldwide. Her book is about mothers and daughters, identity and family, and how the relationships that sustain are also the ones that consume you. The Butler family has had their share of trials—as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest—but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives. Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband Proctor are arrested, and in a heartbeat, the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace. The worst part is, not even her sisters are sure exactly what happened. As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come together in the house they grew up in to care for their sister’s teenage daughters. What unfolds is a stunning portrait of the heart and core of an American family in a story that is as page-turning as it is important. Anissa joins Norman B to discuss and explain the story behind the story.

Is Coding the new universal language, like Esperanto? Tech writer, Clive Thompson has answers. In his thoughtful and well-researched book, Coders, Thompson takes on a subject we often take for granted because Coders and Coding are an integral part of our everyday lives. He presents a brilliantly original anthropological reckoning with the most influential tribe in today’s world, interrogating who they are, how they think, what they value, what qualifies as greatness in their world, and what should give us pause. Clive Thompson takes us into the minds of coders, the most quietly influential people on the planet, in a journey into the heart of the machine – and the men and women who made it.